Obama administration lawyers want a federal judge in Wisconsin to throw out a lawsuit filed by GOP Sen. Ron Johnson contending that employer contributions for staff health benefits run afoul of the law.  

The Justice Department argued in a court filing earlier this week that Johnson and his staff lack standing to challenge the Office of Personnel Management rule on the issue for several reasons, including because they cannot demonstrate harm from the way the OPM interpreted the Obamacare statute.  

“The fact that the plaintiffs are or may be eligible for health-coverage benefits under OPM’s regulations is not enough, by itself, to establish standing to challenge the regulations. To establish standing, the plaintiffs would have to show that the challenged regulations harm them in a material way, such as by diminishing their health benefits,” the Justice Department argued in the filing dated Monday.  

The court filing was reported earlier Wednesday by Gannett newspapers, including the Green Bay Press Gazette . Johnson filed the lawsuit in federal district court in Green Bay, Wis.  

The Justice Department’s filing is posted online here .